Delusions of Love
by GuardianSoulBlade
Summary: Summary: The Court of Owls resurrects Mary Grayson, hoping to use her as their new assassin, she escapes and heads to Jump City, but an old flame's twisted feelings for her jeopardize her reunion with her son.
1. Prologue: Passing Fancy

**Delusions of Love**

**_Summary:_**_ The Court of Owls resurrects Mary Grayson, hoping to use her as their new assassin, she escapes and heads to Jump City, but an old flame's twisted feelings for her jeopardize her reunion with her son._

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><p><strong><em>Author's Note: <em>**_There are a lot of people in the Teen Titans fandom who want Slade to be Robin's father, I'm not really down on the idea because I love Dick's ties to the Court of Owls and William Cobb his great-grandfather, much more than Slade being his birth father, but I can have a ton of fun with the idea of him being obsessed with Mary._

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><p><strong>Prologue: Passing Fancy<strong>

Mary Elizabeth Lloyd wandered through the crowd at Haly Circus; she was headed back to her trailer.

"Might I trouble a beautiful lady for a picture with me?" a deep voice asked.

Mary turned around to see a handsome blonde haired man standing before her. He was definitely a handsome fellow, she could see he was wearing a military uniform.

"Thank you for your service," Mary smiled respectfully at him.

"You're welcome, Miss—"

"Mary Lloyd," she smiled at her.

"Slade Wilson, Private," he grinned back, shaking her hand.

"it's nice to meet you, you sure know how to charm a girl," she laughed.

""Only the pretty ones," he smiled. He took out his camera, and they took a picture.

"Are you deployed?" she inquired.

"I won't be deployed for another year, still going through basic training."

"I see," Mary smiled at him.

"I have to be going, I enjoyed your performance," Slade turned and left.

Mary looked down at her hand, he left her his phone number, usually it was the other way around. She smiled. It'd be nice to go on a date, and he didn't seem like a bad guy. She grinned to herself. Why not?

_Six Months Later.._

"Slade, you know this is never going to work," Mary told the handsome soldier, he'd been seeing her for six months, she felt relationship had moved too fast, and she wasn't ready to commit to anything, she was in her early twenties, she still had a lot she wanted to do with her life, focusing on her career as an acrobat was one of them.

It's not like she was cheating on him or anything, but he wanted to move into the relationship too quickly, marriage was a big step in her life, and she knew deep down she wasn't ready for that.

She could tell he was smitten with her, but of her own feelings, she was unsure, she cared deeply about him, he was a good man, one who'd willingly served his country, he was everything admirable you could think of when you thought about people to look up to.

"It costs money to travel all across the country to Haly Circus to perform, and I know you're a soldier, you don't get that much money, and I'm not ready for a relationship, long distance or otherwise. You understand don't you?"

"Yes, I understand," Slade sighed, he turned and left.

Mary locked herself in her dressing room, John knocked on the door.

"Mary is something wrong?" he inquired gently, he could see she was deeply upset.

"I…I broke it off with Slade, John, I…I…just couldn't be what he wanted me to be!" Mary opened the door, tears streaming down her face.

"John…is there something wrong with me?" she asked.

He didn't answer her, instead he pulled her into a comforting hug, they weren't seeing each other, but he'd always been there for her.

"No, nothing's wrong with you, honey, if there's anything wrong, it's with him. If he loves you he'll respect your wishes. You've done nothing wrong. It's okay, Mary, it's okay…"

It was in that moment, holding him close, that Mary Lloyd realized that Slade never had her heart, because it belonged to John Frederick Grayson.

"You know I love you, don't you John?" Mary asked.

"Yes, honey, I know you've loved me for a long time, and I love you too." He held her for a few minutes, and he knew that was what she needed now.

_Six Months Later…_

"You found someone else? Mary how could you?!" Slade paced up and down, kicking up dust in a fury. He was outside her trailer, Mary wasn't letting him into her house, but she wasn't shutting the door in his face either.

"Slade, you know I said that I just wanted to keep our relationship as friends, and I move constantly with Haly Circus, and you're deployed, I didn't think it'd be right for us to try a long distance relationship, I thought you understood that."

"Now Mary, you know I want this to work between us—" Slade protested.

"I know you told me you love me, but they way I feel about you is not the same way you feel about me, I couldn't live with myself, pretending to feel something I don't, I want you to be happy, and I know deep down, I'm not the one who can give you that."

"That's not true! You know that's not true!" Slade started screaming.

"Life doesn't always give us what you want Slade, I can't give you what you want, and that's why I'm ending this relationship, you keep looking back when you should keep moving forward. I'm moving forward with my life and I know that the way things are, you can't be a part of that. Please go!"

She gently shut the door and locked it quickly, Slade's erratic behavior was disturbing her, his possessive nature wasn't something she liked and she wanted to make it abundantly clear that they were over.

Slade headed back to his car, seething, she had turned him down again. What was wrong with her?! Did she think she was too good for him?! Because he wasn't carny or circus folk?!

He'd seen her second boyfriend, this John Grayson, he was strong, handsome and an acrobat like she was, there was no way he was a better man than he was, she was settling for second best, and he'd make her see that.

He drove off, leaving her behind.

Mary sighed and picked up the phone, "Hi John, he came by again."

"Again, I know he had a crush on you, but this is bordering on stalking," John told her, worried.

"He won't come back, he know that I won't put up with him pulling any stalker stunts."

"Good, but are you sure you're all right Mary?" John sounded concerned. "Slade seems like he could be a nice guy from what you've told me about him, but he doesn't handle rejection well at all."

"I'll be fine, John, I'm just fine," Mary smiled to herself as she hung up the phone.

She went out to the big top, it was time to rehearse, John was waiting for her.

_Two Years Later…_

John Frederick Grayson and Mary Elizabeth Lloyd married under the Haly Circus bigtop, surrounded by friends and family, even John's grandfather, William Cobb had been there, Mary was stunned to see him, somehow he was still getting around very well for someone who was hitting 90.

Mary had always been curious about John's side of the family; she'd heard that John's great grandfather had been a construction worker for Cameron Cane until the bridge had collapsed on him. William had made money juggling on the street until he'd stopped a thief trying to steal from someone in Haly's Circus, he'd been hired on as a knife thrower, and had become famous for it.

There was some sort of scandal involving him and a rich woman named Amelia Crowne, Mary had never been able to hear the entire story, but she wasn't sure how exactly he was involved with it, but he'd returned to the circus, slowly fading into obscurity.

"Well, I will say, my grandson has good taste in women," William teased her, she chuckled.

Mary thought William was friendly, but something about him wasn't right, but Mary couldn't put her finger on it.

The wedding reception was filled with guests, all congratulating them and giving them well wishes and smiles.

Mary felt a gentle pressure on her shoulder, she turns once again to see a handsome soldier standing before her, this time wearing the insignia of a Lieutenant Colonial, there once again was Slade Wilson, smiling with a friendly expression on his face, a little too friendly, Mary decided.

"John and Mary, congratulations, I'm happy for you both!" Slade exclaimed, smiling at them.

"Slade, what a surprise!" Mary was surprised, she hadn't invited him, but he'd come anyway, she kissed his cheek, "But thank you for coming."

"Ah, Mary who is this?" William asked.

"Slade Wilson, he's an old friend," Mary explained. "My husband's grandfather, William Cobb."

Slade shook the old man's hand, he narrowed his eyes, this man was far from ordinary, and he knew everyone in the room knew it and that they were pretending nothing out of the ordinary was going on.

It dawned on Slade that Haly's Circus wasn't _normal_. Sure the circus wasn't normal compared to other people's lives, but there was something different about this place, and it was sinister.

He passed by Mary as John mingled with the other guests, he leaned into whisper menacingly in her ear, "You've made a big mistake sweetheart, we had something, and you've squandered that, _you_. And I won't forget that, and I'll never leave you; not for the rest of your life."

"Slade, please, you need to learn to let go—" Mary chided him gently. Slade roughly grabbed her arm.

"I'll never let this go! Meeting you was the best thing that happened to me, it was destiny!"

"Let me tell you something, Slade, destiny doesn't exist. We decide for ourselves what will happen. Find someone else, someone who will love you as you deserve, I'm not that person, I'm just a passing fancy in your life, it's not that I don't care for you, but I love John Grayson, and I always have. I'm sorry."

"Yes, Mary, I'm sorry too," Slade turned and walked away.

Slade walked away, he saw the old man that Mary had introduced as her husband's grandfather walk over to him. Slade could tell the man was feigning feebleness, he blocked Slade's path slightly.

"Leave my grand-daughter-in-law alone, she was never meant to be yours, no matter what thought you've got in your head!" William spat.

"What's that supposed to mean, old man?" Slade sneered.

"She's very important to this family, someone like you wouldn't understand."

"I suppose not," Slade shrugged. He turned on his heel and left.

Haly Circus was certainly an interesting place, he decided he would investigate this place further; it was concealing more than it led on.

Mary Lloyd looked up as it was getting dark outside, she could spot a white owl with bright yellow eyes staring at her. She'd seen the owls, they flew around everywhere, they were an unsurprising sight as they were native to Gotham City.

Mary didn't see the man in the suit staring at her and John, didn't see the white owl mask peering at her from the darkness.

William Cobb exited the tent. The man approached him. "Is she everything you were expecting?"

"Yes, she the perfect choice for breeding the next Talon," William told him. "To think we almost lost her to some no name soldier."

"It is fortunate isn't it?" the man replied.

"Yes," William Cobb replied. "My legacy is assured, their boy will be perfection, he'll be the next Talon, the one who will surpass me."

"Do you want us to…alter him in any way? We have money; we can easily mold him to genetic perfection."

"No, you won't taint my heir with your scientific mumbo jumbo. Mary Lloyd will be the perfect choice; it's why I made sure to have Harrison introduce them when they were young."

"That's a stretch; you're saying you manipulated their feelings for each other?"

"No, it's merely making sure that my family is the best in everything, whether it's acrobatics or as Talons for the Court," William Cobb left, he had another job for the Court, they had indulged him by letting him come to the wedding, he had to leave, someone had to die, he'd make sure of it.

Mary turned back and reentered the tent. She never saw Slade Wilson or William Cobb again, at least not while she lived as a normal human being…


	2. Chapter 1: Baptized in Blood

**Chapter One: Baptized in Blood**

_**Author's Note:** A lot of this dialogue is actually from the Talon comics that are really, really good._

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><p>Mary Grayson expresses her pain with a scream, it's terror, fear and agony, and she voices it all with one word, "Dick!"<p>

Her hands reach out helplessly to her son, there is nothing she can do, she knows John is falling with her, and that she's going to die, but she sees the agony on Dick's face and it breaks the heart she knows is going to stop.

She left her body and went to Heaven, she knew that, but now she can't remember what it's like, because once again, all she knows is pain, a liquid pain that sears her entire body, and all she can do is scream.

"ARGHHH!" her voice wails as she thrashes about, she's held captive by some strange machine, and she sees a masked man. He's dressed in an expensive suit and wearing a white mask with a small beak, it reminds her of an owl.

"Give her the cup of immortality!" he orders. Rough hands force her mouth open and something horrible is poured down her throat. Mary gasps, she's choking and feels like she can't breathe, then she realizes to her own horror that _she's not breathing_.

She glances over as two men dressed in strange costumes grab her arms and throw her into a ring. She noted that their masked faces made them look like owls, but they aren't white, they're fearsome and dangerous.

"No need to be polite about this Mrs. Grayson, we've chosen you to be our weapon, a savior of Gotham, you will be our assassin, our Talon, you will save Gotham City," John Wycliffe told her, he was the Grandmaster of the Court of Owls.

"Gotham City doesn't need saviors like you!" Mary spat. He slapped her hard enough to make her bleed.

"You will fight for the Court of Owls, you don't have a choice!"

Mary panicked, thinking of some sort of response, the realization hit her. _Give them a performance, put on a show, let them see what they want._ _Escape is your first priority, can't let them know what you're thinking._

"I see, I'm sorry," she apologized quickly, "I was disoriented and confused, I couldn't understand what was going on."

She held up her hands in an appeasing gesture, John smiled, Mary was relieved, he was buying her act, hook, line and sinker.

"Good, good, you've come to your senses!" John Wycliffe was pleased. He instructed his men to teach her all the skills she would need to become a Talon.

So they began to teach her, martial arts, knife throwing, stealth, assassination, and how to leave no trace that you were there. She became well versed in disabling security systems, any security system available. She spent months learning from them, and now she had one last test in their mysterious labyrinth.

It was an endless maze of dead ends and various rooms. They dropped her into it; she could feel the heat of a bright spotlight beaming down on her.

"Welcome to the Labyrinth, Mary Grayson!" John's voice boomed out from somewhere, she could see a screen above her head. "Survive and endure, and prove yourself worthy of being a Talon!"

Unbeknownst to her, another Talon watched her from above. "This is the Hatchling they wish to replace me with? She's too soft, too kind; she'll die easily, my Court."

She wandered through the labyrinth for days, trapped in the endless maze. Mary found the room full of pictures and gazed at them with interest. So many people they'd killed, how could someone like Batman not know about them?

"They're just showing off how powerful they are, how much influence they have," Mary told herself, she turned and left.

She was exhausted and then she saw it, a fountain filled with water. Mary moved towards it warily, it's a trap, she knows it, but she's desperately thirsty.

She drinks slowly, trying not to take too much, but then Mary heard something and turned, there's no one there, she swears up and down there's no one there, she wanders away in a daze.

_"Run," _a voice tells her.

She looks up, joy fills her, there's her boy, dressed in a bright and colorful costume, the one she made for him, wearing a mask and a cape, she wonders why, she never gave him a mask and a cape, but there he is. She wants to embrace him and tell him that everything's all right, but then she remembers what he's just told her.

"Run!"

Mary does what her son says and runs away from the fountain only to hear, see and feel a massive explosion behind her. She's knocked off her feet but she manages to stand again.

"He's not here!" Mary tells herself, "I'm hallucinating! Hallucinogens the the water!"

But in her mind it doesn't matter that Dick's not really there, whatever she's seeing is keeping her alive and she's grateful to the voices in her head.

"Keep moving forward, Mary, keep moving forward!" Mary tells herself, it's her survival mantra.

She sees a large opening and heads towards it, she can see her son standing in the white void.

_"Mom, duck!"_ he orders. Mary ducked just in time as a pair of giant blades nearly skewer her, she can see that they are decorated with giant owls, she breathed a sigh of relief. That was too close!

She glimpses little Robin's black cape vanish around a corner, she runs around the corner to a very narrow hallway.

_"Mom, dodge left!" Dick shouts to her._

She dodges left, just as a volley of arrows fires at her from the other side of the wall; she manages to avoid them all.

She walked into another open space in the Labyrinth, she can see the members of the Court of Owls, they vary in age, but one thing is the same, they all wear their white masks.

"You have endured the Labyrinth nobly Talon," John Wycliffe called down to Mary. "Yet you have one final test…your predecessor…"

"You've made it through the Labyrinth, little Hatchling," the Talon congratulated. "Here we are. Fight now." He drew his throwing knives. "Fight for your little life."

He hit her with the pommel of his knife, she slammed her foot into his chest, he grabbed her arm, only for her to lock his arm and elbow him viciously across the face, slamming her open palm into his chin and following it up with a hard punch.

Mary swiped him hard across the chest, shredding through the costume, tearing into flesh and bone, she can see blood.

He slammed his palm into her face. She somersaulted, giving her time to form an new strategy, she disarmed him of one of his knives and slashed at him, cutting him.

She elbows him in the face repeatedly, she slams her fists into his pressure points and knees him in the groin, following it up by a hard head butt, he stumbles and falls, she backhands him.

She can see the panic in his eyes.

"No! Masters, no! I am not ready! Let me serve you longer! I'll do _anything_!" her nameless attacker, a fellow Talon pleaded with the masked group above him.

_So that's how it works, choose your puppets and use them until the better model comes out, then trash the old ones, how disgusting! _Mary kept her thoughts to herself, there was a reason evil never took over the world, it was petty and short-sighted.

Mary decided to voice her opinion of him while still putting on the show they wanted to see.

"You're pathetic old bird, your time as a Talon has come to an end. Face your death with dignity," she gazed at him, it was rather sad that he was begging for his life, she'd never even gotten that privilege when she died.

"Dignity?!" he screamed, enraged, "This has nothing to do with dignity you stupid woman!" he punched her across the face; she took the blow and avoided his next attack.

She drove the throwing knife between his ribs.

"Ugh!" he groaned. He slumped to the floor. Mary looked at the masked people above her.

"What would you have me do?" Mary asked.

John gazed down at her, steeping his fingers, pleased. "Tear off his hood and rip out his throat! Close your eyes now, little one." He instructed the little girl nearby.

"No" she said, "I want to watch!"

Revulsion hit her in a wave; these people were twisted and sick.

Wycliffe glanced down at her, "This is your rebirth, Mrs. Grayson, your baptism into a new life!"

Mary Grayson was a very, very lapsed Catholic, as the Roma tend to adopt the religion of the surrounding community, but she remembers the symbolism of baptism, that being submerged symbolizes the believer's spiritual death just as Jesus Christ died, and His burial, and that coming up out of the water is symbolic of Christ's resurrection and the spiritual resurrection of the believer.

This "baptism", this was no water baptism, this was a baptism of blood, her rebirth into her new life as their marionette, a puppet attached to them by strings.

With everyone watching her, Mary knew she couldn't fake killing him; he'd just turn around and kill her. She knew that he'd keep killing, following orders, like some deranged puppet, she needed to survive, to expose them, to take them down once and for all, she knew these things were all good reasons, but a thought occurred to her that was the only one she cared about.

_If you don't kill him you'll never see Dick again._

Mary made her decision.

She dug the knife into his neck, watching the blood spill onto her hands and the floor, she slice his throat and watched the light leave his eyes. The blood is sticky and smells and tastes metallic.

It terrified her, playing God with someone's life like that. And it hurt, it made her feel disgusted.

John Wycliffe was very pleased, they'd found a good one! "You have passed your first trial of the Labyrinth! Now you face the second. You won't be released until you're ready to replace the man you've killed."

He continued his explanation. "You will starve. You will go _mad_…and in doing so you will prove your loyalty to us. You have impressed us so far, Mrs. Grayson. Don't stop just yet."

Mary watched them file out one by one, leaving her along with her thoughts and the corpse of the man she'd just killed.

She knew they'd want her to keep killing, until it didn't hurt, until she was numb and didn't care anymore, but she wasn't going to let that happen. She wasn't going to let herself be transformed into a monster.

Mary got up and began once again wondering around the labyrinth, she kept glancing up at the ceiling, they dropped her in from above somewhere, and if she could find where she entered, she could get out.

She found the opening and jumped up, using her peak physical conditioning to hoist herself out.

She returned to their secret meeting place, where she lounged on the table, waiting for them to arrive.

John Wycliffe was impressed. "You've proven your worth, here is your assignment, go to Casey Washington's residence and eliminate her bloodline."

Mary looked at the information she'd been given, Casey Washington was the CEO of Secruitus, a security company that boasted the best security systems in the world, she'd inherited it from her father, Eric, who had a reputation for being paranoid. For reasons unknown to her, the Court wanted her eliminated.

Mary found the high rise easily enough, using her skills to cut the lines to the security system, she slipped into the house, silently making her way through the house, she peeks into a bedroom.

She can see a lovely young woman in her early thirties playing with her daughter, Mary feels horrified, she'd never had the joy of having a daughter, they'd tried a few more times after Dick was born, but she and John had never been able to conceive again.

Mary knows she has to escape, but what about them? If she just cuts and runs, the Court will just send another Talon, maybe Alton Carver, a fellow acrobat, or the gigantic freak, the strongman from the 1800s, the serial killer Felix Harmon, known to many as the Gotham Butcher.

She has to warn them, and help them escape somehow, but how does she prove that she doesn't want to kill them?

The beautiful black woman peered around the corner, she saw the Owl mask, "Calvin? Calvin Rose is that you?"

Mary flinched, she knew Calvin Rose very well. He had performed at Haly's during her days as a member of the Flying Graysons. He was billed as "America's Youngest Escape Artist". They called him Houdini's successor. And he had been a fantastic performer. The Talons still talked about him, as the Talon who'd escaped the Court of Owls, the only one; they were still trying to kill him.

"No Casey, not Calvin Rose, Beware the Court of Owls, that watches all the time, ruling Gotham from a shadowed perch, behind granite and lime. They watch you at your hearth, they watch you in your bed, speak not a whispered word of them, or they'll send the Talon for your head." Mary replied.

It was a Gotham nursery rhyme, but everyone in Haly Circus knew it, because the Talons were handpicked from the Circus' best and brightest athletes. Every few years, the Court would recruit a new member, sometimes willingly, other times through force, but they had plenty and had no short supply of them.

"Just say the damn line!" Casey snapped whipping out a gun.

"Casey Washington, the Court of Owls has sentenced you to die!" Mary only said it because she'd challenged her to say it, she didn't mean a word of it, not at all.

"You really don't know do you?" Casey whispered. "You don't know how cruel these people are do you?! They took one of my eyes! And my arm, and I'd never done anything "wrong" in my life!"

Mary could see the woman had a prosthetic eye and an arm to go with it, she had to wonder just what the Court wanted her dead for.

"Know what?" Mary asked, confused.

The Court doesn't want you to kill _me_, it's my daughter Sarah, she's eight years old, come on! Just try it!"

Mary looked at her, "I don't want to kill you, I want to escape the Court of Owls, and they targeted you."

"Let me get my bags," Casey told her.

"You have bags?" Mary inquired.

"I had a feeling they'd try to come after me again, so I had bags packed for Sarah and I, just in case we had to leave in a hurry."

"Sarah, the bad guys are coming after us again, we have to go on a road trip," Casey explained.

"Momma who is that?" Sarah asked.

"I'm Mary; I'm here to help you get away from the bad guys."

"The big bad bird guys?" Sarah asked.

"Yes, the big bad bird guys," Mary told her, "we're going to get away."

"Mary..." Casey prodded.

"My last name is unimportant," Mary told her in a tone that left her no room for debate. Casey accepted that she wasn't going to tell her anything more.

"So you're just like Mister Calvin Rose?" Sarah looked up at her.

"I'm actually good friends with Calvin, but he hasn't seen me in awhile," Mary smiled at her.

Mary gave Casey an address, "I need to go here first, just wait outside for me, but first, put a fake license plate on the back of your car."

"What are you doing?" Casey asked.

"Sending a message," Mary replied, it's about time she gave the Court of Owls a piece of her mind.

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><p>John Wycliffe paced back and forth; their new Talon was taking too long to complete her mission. He was growing impatient; the Court of Owls didn't tolerate failure.<p>

Suddenly, Mary appeared before him, he glared at her. "What kept you? Is the target dead?"

Mary removed her throwing knives from her belt, and threw them at him, pinning him to the wall before anyone in the room could react.

"You people aren't worth serving! You're all puppets, tangled in strings!" She attacked the nearest Talon. "Strings!"

Mary threw more knives, wounding more members of the Court. The Talons rushed at her, trying to protect their masters like loyal attack dogs.

"I had strings but now I'm free!"

Mary rushed towards the windows; she threw down a flash bag grenade, blinding her pursuers. She jumped effortlessly out the window, performing a quadruple somersault, twisting her body around so she could stare up at them.

"There are no strings on me!"

She plummeted down to the concrete, quickly getting into the car, not even bothering with the seatbelt. She buckled in even as they started peeling away.

"Casey, get us out of here!" she shouted to the woman, Casey put her foot to the floor, the Talons couldn't keep up with the speeding car.

Gotham faded into the distance.

'Do you have anywhere you can go, Casey?" Mary asked.

"I have family in Jump City—" Casey Washington was just a mother, but her father Eric had been the founder and CEO of Securitus, a company dedicated to making the best security products on the planet, he was always living in fear that he was being hunted, the papers called him paranoid, but he wasn't wrong.

Now the Washington's were on the run from the Court of Owls again.

"You can't go to your family, but we can go to Jump City," Mary conceded, the Court's would have to have a long reach if they could get to them in California.

"Where are we supposed to stay?" Casey asked.

"We can stay with the Teen Titans!" the eight-year-old Sarah Washington said excitedly.

"Who?" Mary raised and eyebrow, the name was unfamiliar to her.

"She loves them" Casey explained, "They're a group of teenage heroes who fight crime in Jump City. She keeps going to the park to try to see them when we visit. "

Casey smiled at her, "Tell Miss Mary who they are."

Sarah grinned broadly. "Beast Boy, he turns into animals, Starfire can fly, Raven does magic, Cyborg is a robot, and Robin fights Slade."

Mary was relieved her face was covered by her Talon mask. She didn't think she could get any paler than she already was. Her mind was racing.

_It can't be Slade, not the one I know, he said he loved me, why would he fight Dick, he never met Dick before, I never saw him after my wedding. He didn't even come to my funeral! I didn't see anything about him being there!_

Mary headed for Jump City, she needed answers, but most of all, she needed to get the Washingtons to these Teen Titans. She needed to keep them safe from the Court of Owls, and she couldn't do that by herself.

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><p><strong><em>Author's Note: <em>**_Yes, I did just reference Avengers: Age of Ultron here._


	3. Chapter 2: Unexpected Connections

**Chapter Two: Unexpected Connections**

Starfire was flying through Jump City; her eyes spotted an elderly woman struggling across the road using a walker. She flew down.

"Do you need my assistance?" Starfire inquired.

"Yes please," the woman replied. Starfire helped her across the street.

"I need to go to the senior center," the woman explained. "Can you help me get there?"

"Of course!" Starfire offered helpfully. She helped the woman inside the building.

"My name's Amelia," the elderly woman introduced herself. "Amelia Crowne."

"It is nice to meet you Ms. Crowne," Starfire smiled at her.

"You are Starfire, Robin's girlfriend, yes?"

"You're Robin is so handsome, he reminds me of my William," Amelia had a wistful expression on her face.

"Oh, Miss Amelia, you're back, you know that news crew is coming to interview you, you're the oldest person in Jump City!" the orderly smiled at her.

Starfire helped Amelia into a room where a reporter named Forest Garner and a camera crew was waiting for her. They smiled at Starfire, surprised to see her.

"Shall we start the interview?" Forest smiled.

"Yes," Amelia replied, she sat down in a chair.

"How does it feel to be 113?"

"I feel fine, I'm happy, for the most part," Amelia laughed.

"What are your fondest memories?" Forest asked.

"Oh, I lived in Gotham City, around the turn of the century, I loved visiting Haly Circus, and I loved to watch the Haly Circus's "William Cobb, Knife Thrower Extraordinaire", he was so handsome and talented, I miss him."

"Was he your husband?"

Starfire saw the sad expression on her face, "Sadly no, Daddy never approved of our relationship, and when I became pregnant with my son, he covered it up."

"But your son Bryan—" Forest was stunned, Amelia Crowne had been one of Gotham's First Families, the elite, he'd heard nothing about a scandal, this could be his big break.

"Bryan was my son, but he's not my firstborn, my Frederick, he vanished one night, just disappeared out of his crib."

"Do you know what happened to him?"

"My sweet William, he spirited him away, back to the bright lights of Haly's Circus, I believe it deep down in my heart," Amelia smiled sadly.

"But wouldn't that be called kidnapping?"

"Yes, but I could not search for him, my father Bourton Crowne was too concerned about the scandal it would cause."

"I see," Forest was polite, but he was hoping he could learn more.

"I think she's tired," the orderly told him. The interview was over.

"I want to meet your friends Starfire, please bring them with you sometime."

The orderly came and helped Amelia into wheelchair, pushing her back to her room.

Forest Garner turned to leave when he felt a hand on his shoulder, he saw the Titan Starfire giving him a look that would scare just about anybody.

"I will not let you air the footage about her son," Starfire told him flatly.

"Sweetheart, it's my job to report the news," Forest protested, irritated that the alien girl was so protective of the old lady.

"You do not wish to report the "news", you wish to report a scandal and sensationalize it!" Starfire glared at him.

"Honey, do I look like Fox News to you?" he asked sarcastically.

"I have come to notice that when it come to Democrat or Republican American politics that either party complains about the other news channel. You probably do not watch Fox News because you do not like them anyway."

Forest Garner opened his mouth and shut it quickly. Starfire was reminded of a goldfish.

He didn't say another word and left quietly.

Starfire returned home, she found her friends busy, Robin was working out, Raven was reading one of her books, Beast Boy and Cyborg were playing a split screen first person shooter, constantly yelling at faceless people over the internet on microphones.

"Cyborg, why are such young children using such crass profanity? It is just a game," Starfire observed.

"Starfire, for some people Call of Duty is a way of life!" Beast Boy shouted. "Dude, you're dead, I headshot you sucker!"

And thus began tirade of obscenities which made Starfire giggle because the user on the other end sounded like they were nine years old.

"Dude, tell me you got that on the Elgato for the YouTube channel," Beast Boy grinned.

"I got it!" Cyborg started laughing, "Best trolling ever!"

"Might I try Call of Duty? I have heard that it is easy to play," Starfire sat down by them.

Cyborg showed her the controls and they fired up the multiplayer.

"Dude, record her, this'll be great!" Beast Boy nudged Cyborg.

30 minutes later they stared at the screen in surprise. "Star, first place?!" Beast Boy shouted.

"Everyone in the room was bad, and they did the camping," Starfire gave them back the controller.

"Dude, this video's gonna go viral, Starfire and her Tamaranean swears for the win!" Beast Boy rendered the video.

Starfire found Robin and smiled, "We are not doing anything tomorrow are we?"

"No, why?" he asked.

"Miss Amelia Crowne wants to meet you; she is a nice elderly woman at the senior center."

"Sure, we've got time," Robin smiled, a lot of people always wanted to meet him, and he didn't mind, but this was different, because it was a request from Starfire. He was curious why an elderly lady would want to meet him, he'd be interested to find out.

Starfire once again arrived at the senior center, she'd become friends with the elderly woman Amelia Crowne, the woman was fascinated by Robin, but she never pried into his secret identity, she only mentioned that he reminded her of the man she loved, William Cobb.

"This is really nice of you Starfire," Raven told her friend.

"It's kinda strange though, usually older people aren't really interested in meeting us," Beast Boy observed.

"Yeah, but from what Starfire said, she's really nice," Cyborg added.

They approached the room and Amelia smiled at Starfire.

"Miss Amelia, these are my friends, Robin, Cyborg, Beast Boy and Raven," Starfire introduced them to her.

"It's nice to meet you," Amelia replied, straining to look at them. "I don't see so well anymore."

She gazed at Robin, "You look so much like him, my William, it's like he's come back to me."

"William is?" Robin prodded.

"William Cobb. He was the only man I loved, he was such a good man, he worked hard and he was a performer at Haly's Circus."

Robin was surprised, Haly's had fallen into obscurity, besides being known for the Flying Graysons murders, they never really filled the seats anymore.

"What did William do there?" Robin asked, interested. After all, she's over a hundred years old, she'd seen so much and he was curious about his old home.

"He was a knife thrower, a spectacular one. I'd love to tell you stories about him."

"Miss Amelia, it's time to take your medicine," the orderly informed her.

"Some other time then," Robin smiled.

"You grew up in Haly's didn't you?" Amelia asked.

"What makes you say that?" Robin asked, he's startled that she'd think that.

"You have the air of a showman, just like William," Amelia smiled at him, and for some reason, Robin felt happy.

"I did," he admitted. And he decided that was all he was going to say about it.

"Please, could you tell me if you could learn anything about my son Frederick, he disappeared shortly after he was born."

"What makes you think he'd be at Haly's?" Robin queried.

"Because that's where his father lived," she replied, sighing sadly.

"I'll look into it," Robin told her, and he would, besides, he felt she should learn about what happened to her son before she died.

The Titans left, once out of earshot, Raven stopped him.

"Robin, something's bothering you, what is it?" Raven asked, she could sense he was disturbed by something.

"My grandfather's name is Frederick," Robin told her.

"That's a very common name," Cyborg observed, "There are thousands of people with that name."

"I know, but she knew that I was from Haly's Circus, and I don't know how," Robin was thoughtful.

They headed home and spent the rest of the day training.

Robin was rearranging things in his room when he spotted a box, curious, he opened it and smiled, it was some of his mother's belongings. He rummaged through his mother's old things, mainly photo albums and some jewelry including a bracelet he'd given her as a birthday present.

He found an old fashioned photo; this one must have been special since everyone used digital photos. Robin glanced down at it. The man in the picture was not his father John Grayson. He sees a blonde haired man, he's handsome enough, and he could see why his mother would like him. He has his arm around her and they're smiling for the camera.

Robin turned the photo around and saw a note: _Slade Wilson,_ _call for date._

There wasn't a phone number. He noticed the date; it was three years before he was born. He put it in the box and carried it out to the common room.

"Hey man, what's that?" Cyborg asked, curious.

"A box of my mother's things, there's a picture of someone named Slade Wilson, I wonder who he is," Robin frowned, his mother had never talked about ex-boyfriends.

"It'd be funny if it was Slade, wasn't it?" Beast Boy laughed.

"That's not funny!" Robin scowled.

Beast Boy looked at the picture, "Dude, that can't be Slade, he's too handsome and smiling to be Slade."

"Speak of the Devil, Robin," Slade's voice rang out over the television, how he managed to butt in, Robin didn't know but he appeared on the screen.

Shocked, Robin dropped the box, spilling the contents, leaving the photograph of his mother face up.

The Titans were on edge; they immediately gathered around, Slade was amused.

"What are you planning?!" Robin demanded.

"You are the prodigy of the Dark Knight; can't you figure it out for yourself?" Slade asked.

Robin gritted his teeth, "No more games Slade!"

"Bombs Robin, I've placed them at each of Jump City's banks, and I have the detonator."

"We have five banks, even if we split, we can't get him and stop the bombs at the same time," Cyborg clenched his fist.

"I'm going to detonate the bombs under every bank under the city, tell me what the citizens will do when they have no money left—"

Slade very uncharacteristically stopped midsentence and Robin watched as his good eye glanced down to the floor.

Robin let himself smirk, "Didn't think you were the type to get distracted by a photo Slade."

Suddenly, Robin remembers which photo it is and stills, why's Slade staring at his _mother's_ picture?

Robin hears Slade's tone of voice change, no longer is it the smug, sarcastic, sneering tone he's used to hearing from the man. He hears rage and hatred, and venom.

"She _kept_ the picture!" he spits out the words.

"What does it matter to you, it's not like _you_ know her," Robin replied. His mother took a lot of pictures with people over the years, it's just a fluke that she took one of—His mind freaks out the second he realizes that he's been staring at Slade's unmasked face for the last five minutes. He did a double take.

"What do you know about my _mother_?" Robin demanded, the other Titans glanced over at him, this was unexpected.

"Come visit me, alone at the old haunt, and we'll talk all about her," Slade smirked, "The bombs are still ticking, but I can't wait Boy Wonder, I think about _her_ all the time, as much as I think about _you_. I look forward to reminiscing with you."

The screen blacks out and Robin looks at the others. "I'll deal with Slade, get to these bombs and disarm them."

The Titans separated, each heading to a bank, Robin headed for the old haunt, Slade's old hideout, he entered quietly, saw Slade standing inside.

"Hello Robin," he greeted him, "How nice of you to show up."

"How do you know my mother?" he demanded, his voice had an edge to it. Robin kept his grip on his bo staff.

"We used to date," Slade hissed.

Robin laughed, "Like my mom would date someone like _you_!"

"You didn't know me back then, boy, but we did, for six months, your mother was quite good at stringing me a long, then dumping me for your father."

Robin did the only reaction that made sense to him at the moment, he facepalmed.

"My mom's not like that!" Robin glared at him. "What's next? Are you going to tell me that _you're _my birth father?"

Slade laughed, "Boy Wonder, if I was truly your birth father, do you think I would have let a rich spoiled socialite like Bruce Wayne take you away?"

"Like you care about Bruce Wayne!"

"No I don't Dick, but honestly, would someone as honest as _your mother_ lie to you about who your father was?" Slade asked, Robin knows he's not taunting him.

"She would would never lie to me!" Robin snapped.

"See, there you have it, Boy Wonder, there you have it, sex was a privilege I never got to have with that that woman, but it would have been _so_ nice!"

"SHUT UP!" Robin screamed, attacking Slade in a rage. "Don't ever talk about _her_ like that in front of me, **_EVER!_**"

Their blows were evenly matched, his foot connected with Slade's face. Slade grabbed him by his collar and threw him across the room.

Robin climbed to his feet and elbowed Slade in the face multiple times, hitting him in the head with a pair of escrima sticks.

Slade unsheathed his sword and slashed at Robin, the Boy Wonder blocked the blows with his bo staff, he hit Slade in the face, slamming the front of it into the top of his head.

Robin grabbed another pair of escrima sticks and flipped a switch, electricity crackled in the air.

Roin roared as he charged Slade, the mercenary managed to block the blows but the pain searing through his arms made him a little slower than usual.

He grabbed Robin and locked his arm, slamming his head into the boy's, forcing him to drop his escrima sticks.

Slade slammed his knee into Robin's stomach; he backhanded him as he rushed forward, elbowing Robin in the side of the head.

Robin hit the ground and Slade repeatedly kicked him in the stomach.

Slade pummeled him with his fists; Robin could see the blood on his enemy's glove covered knuckles.

Slade ripped Robin's mask off, "I want you to beg for your life boy!"

"No!" Robin spat.

"You have her eyes, it makes me hate you even more, what'd your father have that I didn't?!"

"Like I know what my mother ever saw in someone like _you_!" Robin retorted. "This isn't even about the bombs anymore, this is about my mom. You're really pathetic, y'know?"

Slade grabbed his shoulder and dislocated it; "You adorable little shit!" he seethed. He dug a knife into Robin's side, "It's about time I killed you!"

"You can't stop me! Go on Dick, call for Mommy, you'll be seeing her very soon!" Slade snarled.

Slade's about to deliver the fatal blow when someone grabbed his wrist…

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's Note: <em>**_Part of me doesn't understand why people who make Robin into Slade's father seem to think that Mary would lie to John for _over a decade_; and most importantly _not tell Dick who his real father is_ if Slade was actually his father. In the comics, all Slade's kids, Joseph, Rose and Grant all look like him in some way, Joey and Grant have his blonde hair, Rose has his white hair. Dick has no physical similarities to Slade at all._

_The adorable little shit bit is actually Damian Wayne's fan nickname LOL._


	4. Chapter 3: Ccovergence

**Chapter Three: Convergence **

_**Author's Note: **_

_This is the best story I've ever written in my life._

_The Talon comics are so amazing and I love Casey Washington, most awesome single mother I've read in a comic, she's so cool, she's like Oracle with her hacking skills, but she's got an awesome organization of people who she helps give a second chance at life, including former mafia soldiers and a former member of the League of Assassins. That and she stole $13 billion from the Court of Owls!_

_The Gotham Butcher is also a DC Comics character, Google Felix Harmon's picture, you may wet yourselves now._

* * *

><p>Casey Washington stared at the screen in interest. She was looking into Jump City's communication systems, searching for the one connected to Titans Tower; it wasn't like the Teen Titans had a normal phone number.<p>

"Cyborg set up a really good security network, but there's never been one I couldn't crack!" Casey said to herself, her fingers flew over the keyboard.

"You have an interesting group here, I'll say that, two former members of the Five Families, a member of the League of Assassins, and an escape artist," Mary wondered how she'd found them all.

"Mary you still haven't told me who you are," Casey smiled, "We're the good guys here, you know that, my organization has given people a second chance at life the world over, don't feel that you have to hide your identity from us."

"I'll tell you who I am, I was just weighing my options, my husband always said we had to have faith in people in order to survive," Mary nodded. She removed her mask.

"Oh my God!" Casey exclaimed in surprise.

"Mary Grayson," Mary shook her hand.

"The Flying Graysons; should have recognized those acrobatics. Always went to Haly's Circus when you guys were alive."

"Glad you enjoyed it," Mary glanced over at her. "Hello Calvin."

"Calvin!" Casey exclaims, standing up to give him a big hug. "You made it!"

"Mary Grayson, you remembered me, I'm flattered," Calvin Rose laughed.

"Like I could forget America's Youngest Escape Artist?" Mary grinned at him.

Anya Volkova, a beautiful blonde haired Russian, formerly a guard of the Lazarus Pit for Ra's Al Ghul, looked over at the two of them. "You two know each other?"

"Show Business," Mary laughed.

"I'm going to train, we'll catch up later Mary," Calvin Rose left the room.

"Casey, tell me if it's really true, you guys stole $13 billion from the Court of Owls, how on earth did you pull that off?!"

"With a team of my best people, Mary," Casey explained, "Had Calvin infiltrate with a hologram E.M.P. mask, had Anya cause a commotion robbing the bank while Joey and Calvin hacked the computers and drained all the Court of Owls' funds."

"Anya, you shouted, "This is a stand-up!" instead of stick-up," Casey laughed.

"My English isn't perfect you know," Anya laughed, but I've lived 700 years, I have plenty of time to learn it."

"Wow, you're really _that_ old?" Mary was amazed that anyone could live that long.

"Yes I am, but I am free from the service of Ra's Al Ghul, thanks to Miss Casey."

"As much as I know stealing is wrong, I can't feel sorry for them," Mary crossed her arms.

"We lost one of our people, Nicky, Gotham Butcher snapped his neck," Anya sighed sadly, "Edgar wanted to kill him."

Mary stared at Anya in horror, "The _Gotham Butcher_, you just said the Gotham Butcher, I've read about him in history books, but I thought he was _dead_."

"Unfortunately for us he's not," Casey sighed. "He's never quite dead."

Mary saw Sarah walk into the room; Casey gave her a look that told her not to say a word about their conversation. The eight-year-old looked at her mother.

"Momma, I thought you said we were gonna go see the Teen Titans," Sarah said hopefully.

"I'm really trying, sweetie, but I haven't been able to talk to them," Casey smiled at her. "They weren't home earlier. I'll try again soon though."

"Okay," she said. "Momma do you have time to play with me? I get bored of the Xbox."

"Mary, will it trouble you to entertain my daughter?" Casey asked. "Sorry honey, Momma's working, but Miss Mary will play with you."

"Of course," Mary smiled. She loved kids and didn't mind at all.

Mary led Sarah over to the other side of the room, "What'd you do before you met Momma?"

"I worked at the circus," Mary smiled. The girl's face lights up.

"Like with clowns and elephants and stuff?" Sarah asked curiously. "Like Calvin?"

"Yes, Calvin used to practice with my son," Mary smiled. "I used to be an acrobat."

"Like Robin?" her eyes shine with joy. Mary can't help but smile. "Robin can do flips and stuff."

"Like Robin, yes," Mary decided to ask her a question. "What do you know about Robin?"

"Not much, just that he worked with Batman before he moved here," Sarah smiled. "He bought me ice cream in the park. His girlfriend Starfire is really nice and pretty. And she can fly."

Mary smiled, "She sounds really nice."

Mary is curious and decides to ask Sarah a question, "Of all the Titans, who is your favorite?"

"Robin, always Robin!" Sarah says excitedly. "Because he's from _my_ city, Gotham's laughing daredevil, Robin the Boy Wonder!" she waves grandly.

Mary smiles, his other nickname stuck as well.

Mary picked up some balls left on the floor. "Would you like to see something neat?"

"Yes," Sarah said excitedly.

Mary began to juggle them easily, "Throw me one!"

Sarah did so, watching excitedly as Mary caught it and added it to the ones in her hand. Sarah kept tossing them until there weren't any left. Mary caught them in each hand and took a bow. Sarah laughed and clapped her hands.

"That's so cool!" Sarah exclaimed.

Sarah, you see the dartboard?" Mary asked, pointing to the one on the wall.

"Uh-Huh," Sarah nodded.

"I can hit the bull's-eye," Mary easily threw a dart and hit the bull's-eye.

Sarah looked at her, "Lotsa people can do that!"

"Hand me that handkerchief," Mary told her, Sarah gave it to her.

"You can't do that blindfolded!" she looked surprised.

"Watch me Sarah," Mary grinned at the little girl, easily grabbing five darts and throwing them simultaneously at the dartboard. She hit the four corners and the bull's-eye easily.

The eight-year-olds mouth dropped open in shock.

"Wow!" Sarah exclaimed. "How did you learn how to do that?"

"My husband's grandfather taught me," Mary smiled. "He was a knife thrower."

Sarah remembered Mary said she had a son; maybe it was someone who would play with her once she met him.

"What's your son like?" Sarah asked.

"He's a good boy, he's nice, sweet, caring, he's good to other people," Mary told her.

"That's nice, I'd like to meet him someday," Sarah smiled. "Thank you for playing with me, I'm going back to the Xbox." She turned and left the room.

"You're welcome Sarah," Mary told her, she returned to Casey Washington. Mary saw Calvin Rose come running back into the room.

"Casey, we have a major problem," Calvin shouted, "I got a call from Securitus Island. Your people are under attack by Talons!"

"_What_?!" Casey exclaimed. "Felix Harmon, they're trying to resurrect Felix Harmon!"

Casey quickly pulled up security feeds from Securitus Island, her father's private fortress where he kept his security secrets. She could see Talons trying to get inside. She saw them breach the walls. And it wasn't easy; her men kept freezing them, if the security systems didn't get them first.

Casey slammed her fist down on the table, "The Gotham Butcher, I'll do everything I can to stop them from bringing back that murderous freak!"

"Let's see how you undead freaks like this!" Casey entered commands, setting off a massive spray of liquid nitrogen. The Talons scattered, trying to avoid it, just as her men fired on them with upgraded versions of Mr. Freeze's guns.

"Ma'am, we can't hold them off forever, they're too many of them!"

Casey spoke into a communicator, "This is Casey Washington, all personnel and guards evacuate Securitus Island, do not engage the Talons, I'm not losing any of you to the Gotham Butcher!"

"Yes Ma'am!" the men on the other screen said, "We'll be out in three minutes!"

"Make it two!" Casey urged. A few minutes later, she received a call.

"Everyone's out," her head of security told her.

"Ma'am, they retrieved the Gotham Butcher, but they're carrying out the entire wall," her head of security informed her. "We're heading to the safehouses, just like you ordered."

"Good, if this freak so much as sneezes in Jump City, you call me, I cut him in half before, and I can do it again!"

"Of course, Miss Washington," the man hung up the phone.

"Casey, did you say you _cut him in half?!_" Mary exclaimed.

"Technically, I cut off one of his arms and decapitated him, but it still counts, and he wasn't quite dead, so I had him on ice at absolute zero at my facility, unfortunately, they got him back, but I'm more than happy to get him again."

"How will you know when you find him?" Mary queried.

"Can't miss a guy who's nine feet tall!"

Mary's eyes went wide, "WHAT?!"

Mary heard the hatred in her voice. "He did something to you, didn't he?"

"Yes, he gouged out my right eye, and tore apart my right arm," Casey explained, "So I really have it out for him. Pissed him off that I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of hearing me scream."

"What a sick freak," Mary muttered, "But his name, Felix Harmon, does sound familiar…." She realized something, "Oh God, he was a strongman at Haly's I remember his old circus bill being in storage!"

"I'm not going to let him get my little girl, they'll pay for brainwashing her, all of them, I don't care if I spend every penny of my father's fortune to do it! I'll take them _all_ down!" Casey was frustrated, "I still can't get access to Titans Tower…wait a second, oh yeah!"

She was about to speak into a microphone when suddenly, she heard voices speaking.

"Speak of the Devil, Robin," Slade's voice rang out over speakers, everyone stilled, this was bad, definitely bad.

Mary tries to remember why the man's voice is familiar to her; she heard the sound of something dropping, and the shuffling of feet.

"What are you planning?!" Robin demanded.

Mary's startled, she recognizes his voice, even though it's deeper, it's her son, and he's angry.

"You are the prodigy of the Dark Knight; can't you figure it out for yourself?" Slade asked.

Robin voice is angry, "No more games Slade!"

Mary feels like her heart stopped, even though it is, it's Slade Wilson, what's going on and why are they talking to each other?

"Bombs Robin, I've placed them at each of Jump City's banks, and I have the detonator."

"We have five banks, even if we split, we can't get him and stop the bombs at the same time," Cyborg shouts.

They all look at each other, from bad to worse, they could use a hand.

"I'm going to detonate the bombs under every bank under the city, tell me what the citizens will do when they have no money left—"

Slade stops unexpectedly, they all wonder what could get the well known villain to shut up.

Robin's voice drips with sarcasm, "Didn't think you were the type to get distracted by a photo Slade."

They all wonder what he could be looking at.

Mary hears the tone of his voice change, no longer is it the smug, sarcastic, sneering tone she's never heard him use. She hears rage and hatred, and venom.

"She _kept_ the picture!" he spits out the words.

_Does he hate me so much now? _Mary thought. _He's _still_ not moving forward._

"What does it matter to you, it's not like _you_ know her," Robin replied. Mary realizes that Slade had never met Dick when they were alive and she'd never told her son about him.

"What do you know about my _mother_?" Robin demanded; Mary knows her boy wants answers.

"Come visit me, alone at the old haunt, and we'll talk all about her," Slade smirked, "The bombs are still ticking, but I can't wait Boy Wonder, I think about _her_ all the time, as much as I think about _you_. I look forward to reminiscing with you."

The line is dead, Casey knows she can't talk to them now, they need help, and as part of Batman Incorporated, they can do that.

Casey began issuing orders. "Joey, Edgar, Anya, Mary, get going to one of the banks, I'll track where the other Titans are headed and tell you which one we'll take."

"How will we track them?" Anya asked.

"I'm tracking their communicators, they have a GPS in them," Casey explained.

"The Titans aren't going to the bank on Wolfman and Johns, head there!" Casey ordered.

They pulled up to the bank, they didn't see anyone there, they got out of the car and ran toward the bank. They found the bomb on the side of the building. It had half an hour.

"That's plenty of time for me," Edgar informed them. "If I can build 'em I can break 'em!" Being an explosives expert did help a lot.

Suddenly a dozen of Slade's minions appeared.

"What are these?" Joey asked.

"Slade's minions," Casey explained, "Found a blueprint of them hidden in a dummy corporation. Slade's very good at covering his tracks when it comes to connecting them to him, but he does have them mass produced."

Calvin Rose attacked the closed one to him, sending his throwing knives through its head, he kicked it back.

Anya unsheathed a pair of swords, "I don't have to hold back! This will be fun!"

Anya rushed forward, slashing through a minion with a sword. She jumped over it and cut the one next to it, splitting it in half. She pulled out a gun and fired, shooting it in the head.

Joey hit one in the face and kicked it hard, knocking its head off.

Anya somersaulted over one and sliced its legs out from under it.

"Ed, how's it coming?" Calvin asked.

"I got it!" Edgar deactivated the bomb, it'd been complicated, but he found the right wire and cut it. "We're clear."

Just then, Mary spotted Robin on his motorcycle, "Sorry Casey, I have to go! I just saw Robin and I have to help him!" Mary shouted into the communicator, she ran to a nearby motorcycle and fired it up, thanking the owner for leaving the keys inside.

"Mary, the bank, what about the bomb?" Casey asked.

"Edgar deactivated it, we're in the clear, I have to go! Can you track him?"

"Yes I can, but Mary, tell me why you're going after him."

"Casey, get me audio and visual!" Mary shouted; she had to get moving and get to her boy before Slade killed him.

"I'm on it, but why'd you go off book?" Casey asked, curious, Mary wasn't one to just ignore a set plan.

"Because Slade's going to kill my son, and I won't let that happen!" Mary explained. Casey immediately realized who she meant.

"Is he really your son?" Casey asked in awe and surprise.

"Yes, I called him little Robin because he was born on the first day of spring and it's a term of endearment I've always used. Just get me audio and visual and show me the schematics for this place."

"I'll do better than that, I'll disable every security system in the building," Casey smiled confidently.

"You can do that?" Mary asked, surprised.

"Slade's got complicated security, but I wrote the books on building computerized security systems, like the ones in Titans Tower and this "old haunt" of his."

Casey was thoughtful, "When we meet the Titans, I'm going to have a long chat with Cyborg, I hacked Titans Tower in 30 minutes, he really needs to upgrade the security."

Casey's fingers flew over her keyboard. "I'm in, the cameras and the heat sensors are disabled, you can walk in through the front door."

Mary slipped inside, stealthily moving through the halls, she found Slade slowly beating her son to death. Dick was covered in blood and heard him scream as Slade dislocated his shoulder, she saw Slade stab him with a knife.

"You can't stop me! Go on Dick, call for Mommy, you'll be seeing her very soon!" Slade snarled.

"Mommy's here and Mommy's pissed!" she gripped Slade's wrist, Mary only wanted one question answered. "Slade, why are you hurting him?"


End file.
